Week 9   March 1—7

            I didn’t say all the things I said

Sunday:  It started off with a cancelled appointment in the morning.  Our keyboard did arrive yesterday and we were able to pick it up this morning. Mary went to church with us so you can imagine how our day went. It was also Fast Sunday so we told her on the way to church what would happen.  Of course she wanted to bear her testimony. She got a little inpatient because people took so much time and were getting to go ahead of her.  Finally, Joyce took her up to the front and the Bishop got her a mic.  It went pretty well for the most part.  We told her she could only take 2 min. so it was short. R.S. didn’t go as well.  There are a lot of less active members, new converts and a few investigators there that don’t know her so we get a few question about her, but for the most part everyone is nice to her.  That’s why she likes to come to church. There are a lot of virtues we will learn working with her like charity, patience, brotherly kindness, diligence, obedience, tolerance, (did we mention patience) and love, plus a few more.

Monday: We spent most of the morning sitting in a waiting room after we took Nola Fakialoatonga (we hope that’s how to spell her last name) to the dentist.  She takes some kind of medication and could barely walk when we picked her up, but by the time we took her home she was much better.  Art has to carry her wheelchair up and down her steps and load and unload it into the pick-up.  He does this while Joyce helps her up and down the steps.  We found a few more broken steps that we need to fix. It’s just one of the jobs of the member support missionaries.  At 5 P.M., we fed the Elders.  We had five of them and they can put the food away.  Elder Maxwell went home today so they had an odd #. 

We had to hurry because we had F.H.E. at 6:30 and we needed to pick up Debra Driggs and Art had to teach the lesson.  Sister Driggs lives around the corner from us and she has no car, so she has been riding the bus.  It will be much easier for her if we pick her up.  Another job for member support missionaries.  The lesson went well and Art is glad to have it over with.  The lady in charge doesn’t like him, he thinks.

  We found out that our ward used to be an International Ward with Sunday school classes in different languages for different nationalities and when it was changed to a Seattle ward 5 years ago they stopped doing the different classes. That is when most of the different nationalities stopped coming to church.   We are trying to find them and invite them back to church. Another job for the member support missionaries.  We love it.  No day is the same and we are getting to know some really nice people.

Tuesday P-Day:  Because of transfers, today is P-day, (play day as Joyce calls it) instead of Monday.  We had the apartment mostly cleaned yesterday and our shopping done, because of feeding the Elders.  It was such a nice day we decided to drive closer to Mt. Rainier.  The Park is mostly closed until spring. On the way, we stopped at the super mall in Auburn and Joyce had her ears pierced. 

We found that the closer you get to Mount Rainier, the less you can see because of all the trees and the other mountains around it.  Guess we will see it better when it opens. This time of year you have to have chains or they won’t let you in and most of the roads are closed anyway. It was nice to see some farms and open space after all the time we have spent in Seattle.  We did find a small state park (Flaming Geyser) that has some nice hiking trails that we will come back and try on the next sunny p-day we have.  In the evening we had an appointment to visit a family so we walked to their house and left them some cookies.  Art was betting they wouldn’t be home, but they were.  Our simplified hymn books arrived so practice time now.

Wednesday:  Started off our day with district meeting for 1.5 hrs.  More role playing, but we got to be the investigators since we are the odd couple.  We spent a lot of time discussing ways to use the Book of Mormon in our teaching.  Joyce also got to play the piano for our meeting.  We drove the senior sisters, from our ward, to Kent for a meeting with Pres. McKinney 1^st Councilor in the mission presidency. We have this meeting the first Wednesday of the month with all the senior missionaries.  He is over all the senior missionaries. 

After the meeting we all went out to lunch/dinner and over to the apartment of the other senior sisters (Sister Henderson and Sister Peterson).  They are going home in 6 weeks and if they don’t find two more to replace them, they will close their apartment. White wash the area as the Elders say.  President McKinney has been calling Salt Lake for replacements, but nothing yet.  They wanted us to come and see if we wanted any of their furnishings so the mission won’t have to store it if they close the apartment.  Joyce did take all of their Christmas decorations, much to Elder Knowles chagrin…  The Skyway A Elders called to see if we could help teach at 5 so we hurried home and met them at the Acosta’s and taught Joshua’s two younger sisters, Rudy and Ruth.   They have been coming to church since Joshua was baptized.  We got home and settled in for the night when the Skyway B Elders called to see where we were.  We had a 7 o’clock appointment to teach a member with them that we forgot about.  We hurried there to find that the member was having a party because she also had forgotten.  Oh well, that’s missionary life. 

Thursday: Went to W.W. first thing in the morning and then met the senior sisters (Sister Chamberlain and Sister Harrison) at the museum and gave them a tour so we could practice.  The first Thursday of each month is free admission. 

 After our tour, we worked in one of the areas close to the museum.  We found one not interested and one wrong address and the rest weren’t at home. We had a little time left so we worked the area by the lake only to find all the addresses were wrong.  We even ended up out of the mission boundary and into Seattle, but we found a cool trail that goes along I-90 that we are going to check out on a p-day.  We will be able to walk across Lake Washington on I-90 to Mercer Island or at least as far as the mission boundary goes. I-90 is the top of our mission so we will be legal.

Bellvue across Lake Washington

In the evening we had our meeting with all the Elders and Sisters and the Ward Mission Leader.  If you have a hard time keeping all the sisters straight don’t worry, we do too.

Friday:  Another busy day.  We started with the Institute Class then had to run to the mall so we could return a pair of shoes that didn’t fit.  We went from the mall to the museum where we had our final training as docents.  We are now official and already have a tour lined up.  We met the Skyway B Elders at 6 o’clock and helped teach a lesson.  We brought a DVD player that we couldn’t get to work on their TV, so we watched it on the little screen.

I-90

Didn’t matter much to us since we played it in Tagalog.  Most of the lesson was taught in Tagalog by the Filipino Elder (Elder Paulo) serving in our ward, so the rest of us just sat there.  It was pretty cool because we could still feel the spirt even though we didn’t understand what was said.  We would read in English (Joyce, Art and Elder Lopalinin) and Elder Palo, Pedro and Fely would read in Tagalog.  We also were asked to bear our testimonies, (in English) so it was a special night.

Saturday:  The Renton Stake had a Women’s Conference from 9:30 until 1:00 and Joyce attended it.  We invited several to go but no luck.  One lady that said she would go cancelled on Friday night.  After the Conference we hurried to a meeting on Family History at the museum.  It was packed and we were able to meet the President of the Black Genealogy Research Group.  He wants a list of all the sites in the area that we have F.H. centers and to be informed of any workshops that we might have.  After the meeting we tried to find a couple of addresses but no luck there.  Here is our preaching for the week, President Eaton sends out a letter before each Zone Conference and we liked this quote from President Eyring:   “My experience has taught me this about how people and organizations improve: the best place to look is for small changes we could make in things we do often. There is power in steadiness and repetition. And if we can be led by inspiration to choose the right small things to change, consistent obedience will bring great improvement.”  Thanks for all the notes and letters that you send.  We love hearing from you.  We are doing great here.   Read the Book of Mormon every day!!!!!

  Love Elder and Sister Knowles

Week 8

                             Week 8 Feb. 22-28

            You can observe a lot by watching

Sunday: We stopped by to pick up Mary for church, but she didn’t feel well so she stayed home.  I know we shouldn’t feel this way but it is a relief sometimes when she doesn’t come.  She is so time consuming that we can’t work with any of the other ward members.  We did meet a convert that has a lot of questions that wants us to come over and talk to him about.  He asked a couple of questions in Gospel Principle class, but all the comments just confused him more.  He also wants help filling out some job applications on line.  He drives a truck and wants a job in town because they are about to have their first baby.  We hope we can help him out.  We also found out that the burglar lady has had bugs in her house and the bishop said if we go and visit not to sit on the furniture.  This would have been nice to know a few weeks ago since we have been over there a few times and sat and visited with her.  Now we know where the bites have come from. (J.K.) In the evening we had the elders and seniors sisters over for banana splits because Elder Tan got his visa and is leaving for Taiwan on Monday, and Elder Maxwell goes home next week.  The Schwieders will love Elder Tan in Taiwan!  Joyce got to play the piano in Relief Society because there was no one else.  The first song was awful, but the second was better…Needless to say, we ordered a keyboard and a simplified hymn book on Monday so she can practiceJ 

Monday P-Day:  We spent most of the day cleaning, shopping and doing laundry, like most missionaries do.  It was such a nice day that we did take a few hours and walked around Seward Park.   It sticks out into Lake Washington and has a nice path around the park along the shore line.  On the one side you get a great view of Mount Rainier, and on the other side is a great view of the Seattle skyline.

Mt Rainier way in the back on left

  We attended F.H.E at the church in the evening.  We are becoming the ward taxi service.  The mission office told us we would be doing a lot of driving members around.  We hope this means they feel comfortable with us and will let us help them.  There are a lot of older members in the ward and many with disabilities and very few that have cars in the area we live in.  Many ride the bus, but the bus stop is still a long ways from the church and many can’t even make it to a bus stop.

Lake Washington

Seattle

Tuesday:  We had District meeting in the morning.  We discussed study habits and teaching.  Joyce practiced the piano for Sunday.  When our keyboard comes, she can practice at home…We are sure the neighbors will love it, but it won’t be as bad as a barking dog at 6:00 in the morningJ  We made a couple of visits after and found both at home.  One was in a nursing home so we were sure she would be there if we had the right room #, which we didn’t, but we did find her.  Our next stop was to a less active wife with an active husband.  She has lots of health problems so we only talked to him and the kids, but he did tell us when to come back and visit with her.   In the evening we got brave and walked to our next appointment after dark.  We met the Elders at the Acosta family and helped teach a lesson on baptism. J

  They had boiled duck eggs with a 16 day old duck fetus inside (Balug).  We didn’t eat one, but the Elders did.  One of them had eaten one before, but the other hadn’t.  It was pretty entertaining to watch him.ourmissionadventure@blogspot.com  Elder and Sister Knowles may have to be searched for.

Michele, Richele, Sunshine, Mary Ann and Sister Knowles

 The four girls are: Mary Ann, Michelle, Rachel, and Sunshine.   All have been recently baptized, except the oldest sister, Mary Ann.  She is still reading in the Book of Mormon, so maybe in March she’ll be baptized. Only one speaks good English, so she would translate what we said then translate back to us what her sisters said.  After a while we figured out that they understand more English than they let on, but this is the way the Elders taught them so we keep doing it that way.

Rachel Acosta

Elder Olsen

Balug

 Joyce made birthday cake because of their birthdays in February, but it wasn’t the hit that Balug was.

Wednesday:  We stared the day with a service project at Northwest Harvest.  Our crew packed 5,750 lbs. of rolled oats. We met some very nice people.  Everyone wants to know about missionaries, but not the church.  After that we met with Joyce and Thomas Johnson for a lesson. This is the man we met on Sunday.  They are both from Ghana.  We discussed the Godhead and the Plan of Salvation and answered a few questions they had.  Joyce Johnson is due on the 23^rd of March so Joyce is trying to set up a baby shower for her.  Thomas loved the chocolate cookies, and they both loved Phyllis’ hot pads, of course. J  

 Next, we went to the N.A.A.M. and worked in the family history lab and got some information from them so we can see about getting a few more computers.  Katie, (the girl training us) gave us a couple of dates to shadow some tours and told us that she is going to start using us for tours if we are willing.  She said she would finish training some time later.  I guess we will give it a shot.  The Elders wanted us to help teach in the evening, so we did.  We went and read the Book of Mormon with a less active member.  We walked in the dark this time too, but it is not too far from our apartment.  We are getting to be quite brave

Thursday:  Today is our W.W. day.  We went there then had to hurry up to the N.A.A.M. for a tour.  It was a group of 2^nd graders.  We went on the tour and when they went to do a craft, we practiced giving a tour with each other.  We also got some more information about the computers they need.  We forwarded that onto the Stake President.  He will be the one to get the computers if he can make it happen. He is doing all he can to make it a nice genealogy center.  We also have a few more people working on getting some, so we hope it will work out.  At 3:00 we met the Elders to teach Mary Hardy.  She still will not commit to go to church.  She has a new excuse every week why she didn’t do any of the things that will help her progress.  They are thinking about dropping her since she doesn’t seem to show any real progress or effort. The Senior Sisters will probably start working with her and let the Elders move on.    On the way home we stopped and picked up some chicken for Mary Hurley, but we couldn’t get to her house because of all the police cars in the way.  We think there was a car accident on the street.   In the evening we met with all the missionaries and the ward mission leader. 

Friday:  We had rain all day, or Seattle spit as they call it here.  In the morning we drove to Auburn to the institute class with the Bensens and then out to lunch with them.  They don’t get much contact with other missionaries so it is nice to visit with them.  We are also learning some great study skills in class.  We are so glad that they invited us to attend with them.  We needed to stop on the way home and pick-up a few things and then we went to the N.A.A.M. for a tour and more work on getting the genealogy lab more computers.  We had an appointment in the evening so we had to cut the tour short and drive to the far end of our ward in the going home traffic.  That makes the trip double the time.  Our lesson went well with the Elders, but when we finished we couldn’t get a return appointment.  She was a really nice lady and will let us visit, but not teach her.  Her son was recently baptized so we will give her some time and just visit for a while.  After talking to the Elders, we got some good ideas for our lesson that we have to teach at F.H.E. so we are working on that. 

Saturday Triple Advil Day:  It was a beautiful day today with not a cloud in the sky. Maybe a little wind and cold but not too bad.   We rode the train to the far end of our area in the north and spent most of the day knocking on doors.  It is the new part of the ward, so no one knows these people.   We even had one door slammed in our face, but we met mostly nice people. They love the cookies and hot pads. Joyce gives cookies, a pass along card with our name/number on it, and a hot pot pad to anyone who opens the door and is nice.  Because of the door slamming, we decided we needed a treat, so we stopped at Borrichinni’s and had lunch and a few samples of the pastries.  Art had to buy one.   In the afternoon we had a tour to attend at the museum then we were back on the streets.  It took us forever to find one apartment complex, only to find we couldn’t get in.  We had to make contact through an intercom.  Like most places, no one answered, but we did find out that two families had moved.  We have 40 quadrants that we are working through in our ward, and usually when we go out, we can only get through one in a day.  Today we were able to get two quadrants done, so, we’re glad about that.  We checked on about 16 names and addresses. Some were single and some were families.  One lady, Kirsten, wants the Elders to teach her 9 year old son and she wants us to send the Cub Scout leader, as well.  There is a nice farmers market not too far from where we catch the train so we stopped there on the way home.  It is very Asian.

  Here is our preaching for the week or Art’s we should say:  I am usually a little more guarded in expressing my feelings, but I feel like this (charity and a few more things) is a big improvement I need to make.   I have always wondered why, of all the scriptures in the Book of Mormon, Hyrum Smith chose Ether 12:36-38 to read before they went to Carthage.  After Saturdays experience with the man slamming the door in our face I think I can understand a little better.  As we were walking from his house the feeling I had could best be described by words that I learned on the farm working on the baler and with cattle.  That evening I was reading in Corinthians chapter 12 where Paul talks about charity.  I realized that he didn’t have charity and neither did I.  Now I can see the importance of the atonement or grace in our lives to overcome our weaknesses.  I think Hyrum was concerned about those they were about to face and wanted them to have the ability to overcome their weaknesses and he knew that he had done his best to help them and he wanted Joseph to know that he supported him 100%.  That is our purpose as missionaries, to help others come unto Christ, and in the process we may get a few doors slammed in our face.  So, this week and however long it takes, I will be working on developing charity.  Let me add also that I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that we have a prophet on the earth today.  I am so thankful for both of them.     

 P.S. for our grandkids: keep playing the piano, you will be thankful that you did.   

         

 Elder and Sister Knowles

Dear Caden, Macey, Tyson, Maddox, Elayna, Haley, Braeden, Alexxis, Mariah, Jace, and Jaxon,

We are so thankful for each one of you and for letters and notes to us for Valentine’s Day.  Thanks, too, for your sweet parents for calling, writing, doing packages, and keeping in touch.  

Grandchildren Memories:  Thank you, each one of you, for the nice things you do and say for us while we are away from you on our mission.  We miss you so much, but you and your parents are so good to keep us informed about all you are doing! 

THANK YOU for your kindness!

Caden:  for your letter and letting us know how you hurt your knee; and how you’re doing and feelingJ, and for saying, “He is kind and funny, and likes to joke around.  & She is energetic and likes to do stuff.”  That meant so much to us!  You are the finest young man, Caden, and we are so proud of you and the great person that you are becoming.  You take your trials with dignity, and even have fun along the way.  What a great example you are to us!  We love you so very much!

Macey: for your letter and letting us know how you did in the competition and that you won and got straight AsJ  Thanks for saying: “He is funny and teases me in funny ways. & She is always kind and loving.”  That was nice of you and meant so much to us.  You are truly, such a sweet heart, always so kind to everyone that you are around and associate with.  You are truly as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside!  We love you so very much!

Tyson:  for your letter of love and drawing of all of usJ  We loved the stick figures of you and us!  Thanks for saying: “He tells jokes, & She rides the RZR with me, and I like her hair!”  That meant so much to us!  Oh, Tyson, you are so cute!  We can just here you saying that each morning in St. George when I got up and had my crazy hair!!!  You are so funny.  We love you so very much!

Maddox:  for your letter and wonderful picture of the tree with birds, hearts, and other animals on it!  Thanks, too, for talking to us and playing the piano for us on Face TimeJ  and for saying, “He can build things and also has a fun sense of humor. & She always has a smile, she is optimistic and kind to others.”  That meant so much to us.  You are so fun to be around because of your great sense of humor and for all the fun knowledge that you share with us!  You are a talented young man, with potential oozing!  (Is that a good adjective?)  We are so lucky to be your grandparents and to have you in our family.  Congratulations on receiving the Aaronic Priesthood.  We know you will honor it and live a Christ centered life.  We love you so very much!

Elayna:  for talking to us and playing the piano for us on Face Time, and for the valentine and heart letter that we could “fill in the “sticker” with love!  Thanks for saying these kind words for us:  “He wrestles and tells jokes. & She plays games with me and gives me hugs.” That meant so much to us!  We still adore your poem that you wrote:  “To Grandma and Grandpa”: 

There is a difference in this world, and that’s because of me.

I’ve thrown my arms around your neck and I make you as happy as can be.

You have made me happy,

By smiling a big wide grin,

So, all of this is true,

And, together, we can win!  By ElaynaJ

Thank you for being so sweet to us and sharing your love with us always!  You are so fun to be around, because you are always so happy and vibrant.  You are talented, bright, smart, and beautiful, on the inside as well as the outside!  How blessed we are to have you as a granddaughter and in our family!  We love you so very much!

Haley: for the letter with stickers – Grandma was the ladybug and Grandpa was the monkeyJ  We loved your letter, and for saying:  “He buys me ice cream. & She takes me on bike rides and walks.”  We can’t wait to get to do those things again when we get home!  Thanks for playing and reading with us when we visit.  You are so sweet and nice to each of us and we love it when you dance and play the piano for us.  We love you so very much! 

Braeden:  for phone calls to tell us how you’re doingJ and for saying, “He always plays with us and lets us ride the RZR…” and for saying, “I love it how she says, “Thank you, GrandmaJ” That meant so much to us, and we could almost hear your voice, saying those words!  You are the best young man around!  We are so proud of you, for all you do in school, for the way you honor your Priesthood, for the leader and helper you are in your family, for your wonderful creativity imagination, and for your positive attitude.  We are so thankful for how you stand up for who you are.  We are truly blesses to have you in our family and to have you for a grandson!   We love you so very much!

Alexxis:  phone calls to tell us how you are doingJ  Keep phoning us because we love talking to you and seeing you.  We are so thankful to have you in our family, for your great sense of humor. The fact is, that you stand up for who you are, yet are always full of fun.  Thank you for saying, “He plays with us.  He is funny and tries to throw us downstairs. & Whenever we want to do something, she finds a way for us to do it.”  Those kind words meant so much to us!  We love you so very much!

Mariah:  hand prints on our wall that you and your mom made for usJ  We loved it how you sent them to us, and the licorice and rain slickers to give away!  Tell your mom and dad how much we like hearing from them and how glad we are to have them try to move into our house!  Also, tell them to be careful with you, precious cargo…you know!   Thanks for sending us hugs and kisses.  That meant so much to us. We love you so very much!

Jace:  talks and reads to us on the phoneJ Thanks for saying, “Because he tries to eat my toes.  That’s funny.”  & for saying, “She let’s me play the Wii without doing my chores.  She is super nice to me.”  We can just hear your cute voice saying those words, and miss you.  Tell your mom and dad how much we like to talk to them and that we hope they are doing well in school, and getting ready to move.  I bet you have had fun in Wyoming!  We love you so very much!

Jaxon:  for learning how to walk and then we got to watch you walk from your dad to your momJ    Thanks for sending love and smiles.  We love you so very much!

Deuteronomy 5:7-21 The Ten Commandments:

1.        Thou shalt have no other gods before me…

2.       Thou shalt not make thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them:  for I the Lord they God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

3.       Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain:  for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.       Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.  Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:  But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:  in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, or thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by stretched out arm:  therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.

5.       Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

6.       Thou shalt not kill.

7.       Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

8.       Neither shalt thou steal.

9.       Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10.   Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or ay thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Here are the hand signs that go with each one so you can help your parents learn the 10 Commandments during a Family Home EveningJ

1.       1 finger - Thou shalt have no other gods before me.   Lift up your pointer finger and look towards heaven.

2.       2 fingers - Thou shalt not make thee any graven.  Put second and fifth fingers up (for ears) and touch thumb, middle finger, and ring finger down together.

3.       3 fingers - Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.  Take pointer finger, middle finger and fourth finger together (with thumb holding down your pinkie finger,) and slide pointer, middle and ring fingers over your mouth.

4.       4 fingers - Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it… the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.   Make two church steeples using pointer fingers together of the right and left hands, and pinkie fingers together of the right and left hands and tuck the rest of the fingers in (like the finger play – Here is the church and here is the steeple, open the doors, and see all the people, close the doors and hear them pray, open the doors and they all go away…

5.       5 fingers - Honor thy father and thy mother. Using the right hand do the sign language for father and mother, using all five fingers separated.  For father, (touch head with thumb) and for mother, (touch chin with thumb.)

6.       6 fingers - Thou shalt not kill.  Get your pretend guns out of your “pockets” using your thumb, pointer and middle fingers to make the guns on each hand, then put your “guns” back in your pretend pockets…

7.       7 fingers - Neither shalt thou commit adultery.  Put up all five fingers on right hand, and the ring finger and pinkie finger on the left hand.  (Use the thumb on the left hand to hold down the second and middle finger.)  Count the fingers on the right hand first, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then count pinkie on the left as 6 and the ring finger on the left as 7 – signifying the ring finger as marriage and to not commit adultery.

8.       8 fingers - Neither shalt thou steal. During the Law of Moses, if someone would steal, they would get their thumbs cut off – so hold out both hands and tuck under your thumbs, showing only 8 fingers

9.       9 fingers - Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.  Put up five fingers on your left hand and turn your hand sideways like wall – Tuck in your thumb on your right hand and turn it sideways and put it behind your right hand (towards your body.)  With your thumb still hidden on your right hand, bring it in and out like someone is “gossiping behind someone’s back.” 

10.   10 fingers - Neither shalt thou covet. Make both hands shaped outward and bent a little, and pretend to grab everything that comes in sight.

You can make this lesson into a spiritual activity, as well as having some fun with the signs.  For example, when the Elders were in our home teaching this to a less active sister, they concentrated on #4 –Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and committed her to try to quit working on Sunday so she could attend church more frequently.  You can take turns teaching the signs and then decide which commandment you want to work on to make it the focus of your Family Home Evening or Lesson. 

                                                       

Week 7 Feb. 15-21

                         FEB. 15-21 Week Seven

 If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else.

SUNDAY: We picked up Mary and went to church.  She was ready and waiting for us.  She is getting a little better with the clapping.  Everyone is so nice to her so she really enjoys going to church.  Sunday night was the Mission Devotional in Puyallup, about 40 min. south of us.  We took one R.M. and one recent convert with us.  On the way there they told us their conversion stories.  One was from the Philippines and one from Viet Nam.  The one from Viet Nam was caught the first time he tried to leave and spent 2 years in a communist prison.  The second try he made it to Indonesia and then the U.S. where he joined the church.   The devotional was great.  A lady from our ward, which just went to the temple, was one of the speakers.  Most of the meeting was about family history or having families sealed.  The Missionary Choir was excellent as usual.  We also ran into Jeremiah there.  He is the young man we had met at Walmart and he is set for March to be baptized.

Katie Williams Our trainer

N.A.A.M.

Monday: We had our apartment inspection from one of the office couples.  They also bring us a Home Teaching message.  We spent most of the day at the N.A.A.M. helping with Family day and Educator day.  They had a story teller there that was unbelievable.  She told a story about a slave that his master boiled his body after he died and used the bones to teach medical students.  It’s a true story.  This happened around 1790 and they just buried his bones a few years ago.  She told the story from his wife’s point of view.  It was late when we got home, so instead of going out in the dark (which we are not supposed to do) we tried to find two people who live in our complex, but no luck.

Tuesday: Today is P-day so we cleaned and went shopping.  We needed some instructions on Family History so we stopped by the Mission Office to talk to the experts.  The N.A.A.M wants us to start teaching there so we thought we had better get some quick help.  It was late again when we got home, so we tried our complex again with the same results. We asked the complex to put a peephole in our door since we are on the street and one of the few apartments that don’t have one, but they won’t do it.  We are slowly finding out why they get bad reviews here. 

Wednesday: It was a beautiful day today, as it has been all week. Our appointment with Mary Hurley didn’t happen. She forgot she had a dentist appointment when she set up the appointment with us.   So we visited another older lady in the ward.  She is the one who is obsessed with burglars in the neighborhood.  I don’t know why because there is nothing in the house worth stealing. She answers the door with a wrench in her hand in case we are burglars.  We have decided that she is the old maid that is in the song about The Burglar Boy.  We spent most of the day at the N.A.A.M. working on the computers trying to learn about family history.  We also gave each other a tour for some practice.  In the afternoon we went knocking on doors.  Our first one was in a rough part of town and the house was pretty run down.  No one was home and I don’t think we will try going there again.  We were glad to get out of there.  Our next two homes had people that answered the door, but not who we were looking for.  We get a lot of that in this part of town.  This is the new part of the ward and the records are not the most accurate here.  In the evening we had an appointment with the Elders to teach but she wasn’t home so we went to are meeting with the Bishop early and practiced the piano.  Joyce practiced and Art slept in the chair. 

Thursday: We went to W.W. in the morning and picked up a few things that we needed while we were in Renton.  We met the Elders and taught a lesson to Mary Hardy (a different Mary than the one we teach). It went well, but she won’t commit to come to church or pray with us.  She doesn’t have a bible so we are going to get her one tomorrow.  On the way home we stopped at two more addresses and found a young girl that just moved in, and told us that she may try and come to church.  The other address had no one home.  In the evening we went to our meeting with the ward mission leader. Since we were in our meeting we missed the fireworks for the Chinese New Year, plus we forgot.  We found another temple that is close by so it would have been easy to watch if we would have remembered.

Friday: We stared off our day going to Auburn to the institute class, then to the mission office for some supplies.  We needed a bible to give to Mary Hardy.  The Elders had several but none in English so we told them we would pick one up and get their supplies while we were there.  On the way home we stopped to drop it off to Mary but she wasn’t home. She had told us that she may be at a doctor’s appointment for her son.  We left it in front of her door so we hope she gets it.  We then ran to Sam’s Club to pick up some apples, and meat for the dinner tonight with the Elders and a less active member, Fely Baluka.  The Elders taught a very good lesson on the Ten Commandments.  The rest of the evening we worked on the area book.  We did get a big surprise when we got home.  We had a new peep-hole in the door.  I guess they changed their mind.  Another tender mercy.

Saturday: It was an 8 Advil day.  We spent most of the day knocking on doors, but we did find a lot of people home.  While we were talking to a lady on her steps a car came around the corner and hit another car and then backed up and took off.  That sure brought people out of their houses. This was even in one of the nicer neighborhoods in our area.  As we were going home we had to pass the Chinese Temple (which we found out it is a Vietnamese Temple) and they were having a big celebration with tour buses and the works.  There were some dancers preforming but they finished just as we got there.  We walked around a bit and talked to a few people and then headed home.  On the way home we passed a barbeque grill where all the dancers were eating and they put on another show with fireworks and the whole deal, so we did get to see it after all. 

The Spanish speaking Elders came over to find out what areas they could work in to help us out.  After they left we went to a baptism for Joshua Acosta.   His mother and several sisters joined the church a few weeks ago. 

That has been pretty much our week.  Things are going well and we are staying busy.  We really love the letters and phone calls that we get.  Here is our preaching for the week:

A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! As you give that which you have there is a replacement, with increase!   Boyd K. Packer   With opportunities all around us, why should we fear? The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.  Spencer W. Kimball

 Something to ponder:  How does having a knowledge that we have the Gift of the Holy Ghost change our desire to be a member missionary and bear our testimony more often?